Access Advance adds 28 HEVC licensees as surveillance giants join pool

The entry of major surveillance manufacturers signals that HEVC has transitioned from a premium broadcast and streaming tool to a foundational commodity for high-bandwidth industrial infrastructure. By securing the market's largest visual data generators, Access Advance solidifies HEVC's utility even as newer standards like VVC attempt to gain footing. This consolidation reduces legal friction for ecosystem players integrated with these global hardware suppliers. Strategic observers should monitor the resolution of remaining litigation involving Dahua to see if it follows the licensing precedent set by its peers.

The expansion of the HEVC Advance pool comes amid a broader consolidation of the video codec licensing landscape. In late 2025, Access Advance acquired the administration of Via Licensing Alliance’s HEVC and VVC patent pools, significantly increasing Its market share. According to reporting from ip fray in June 2026, a subsequent attempt by major licensors, including Orange, to move that portfolio to rival administrator Sisvel failed when more than two-thirds of licensors voted to maintain Access Advance as the administrator. This stability has allowed Access Advance to market a more comprehensive portfolio, particularly as enforcement actions increase against unlicensed streaming platforms.

While HEVC remains the dominant choice for 4K and HDR content, it faces competition from both the royalty-free AV1 codec and the newer Versatile Video Coding (VVC) standard. In July 2026, Access Advance reported that its VVC pool reached a critical milestone, with licensees now representing an estimated 62% of the global smartphone market following the addition of Samsung and Sharp as licensors. Despite these gains, HEVC remains the baseline for high-bandwidth professional applications like surveillance, where legacy hardware support and proven compression efficiency still outweigh the computational costs of migrating to next-generation codecs.

Legal pressure continues to drive pool participation across the video ecosystem. Per ip fray in March 2026, Dolby filed patent infringement lawsuits against Snap in the U.S. and Brazil over the usage of HEVC and AV1, suggesting that an Access Advance Video Distribution Patent (VDP) license would resolve the dispute. This trend of litigation-to-license conversion was also seen with Roku and Hisense earlier in 2026, illustrating a growing industry shift where major hardware and software providers prioritize pool compliance to mitigate multi-jurisdictional legal risk.